1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing a ceramic structure and a ceramic structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with the decrease in the sizes of various electronic devices and increase in the performance thereof, the desire for miniaturization and high integration of various ceramic elements has been increasing. For example, in the trial production of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), unit cells are highly integrated by forming a honeycomb molding by extrusion or the like. Furthermore, in the production of solid secondary batteries or the like, in general, layers including a plurality of cells are stacked.
A disclosed method of integrating such ceramic elements is a tape stacking method in which ceramic green sheets are stacked and then fired to form a ceramic laminate. For example, in the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3058143, piezoelectric material green sheets on which electrodes are applied are stacked in the height direction of drive columns functioning as a piezoelectric driving mechanism, and the laminate is cut in accordance with an array pattern of the drive columns, thereby arraying a plurality of drive columns in a grid shape. In the method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-247703, a large number of piezoelectric material green sheets and ceramic green sheets having through-holes or the like provided on the inside thereof are alternately stacked, and the side faces of the laminate are then cut in a grid shape so that the through-holes are exposed. Thus, piezoelectric bodies are arrayed in a grid shape so that the length along the cutting length of the piezoelectric material green sheets is the height of the standing piezoelectric bodies.